Reality Check
by Daddy's LiL HeartBreaker
Summary: Tony Stark finds himself in a world he has no memory of where Thanos isn't a problem. Yet. Is history doomed to repeat itself or will he discover a way to help his team in both the old world as well as the new? Will he find a way to return to his old world or will new bonds that he's formed make him want to stay? POST IW
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Tony Stark finds himself in a world he has no memory of where Thanos isn't a problem. Yet. Is history doomed to repeat itself or will he discover a way to help his team in both the old world as well as the new? Will he find a way to return to his old world or will new bonds that he's formed make him want to stay?**

 **Featuring: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, OC, All the Avengers, and others.**

 **Setting: Post Infinity War. Sort of.**

 **Notes: I've always loved these movies. Been wanting to write an Avengers fic for a while now.**

* * *

Everything just crumbled away within his grasp. A mixture of grief and guilt surged through Tony Stark. Nebula kept her distance not knowing what to say or do. Unknowing if either of them were next. Though it felt like hours, it was only minutes later that he finally stood up. He took a few steps toward her only to collapse to the ground. She checked him over and realized he had only passed out. Shaking her head, the alien woman dragged him to the nearest shelter that she could find and let him rest.

* * *

A groan fell from Tony's lips as his brown eyes fluttered open only to squeeze back shut at the sight of a bright light shining over him. His body shifted a little and it was only then that he realized that he was laying in a bed. Startled, he sat up patting his body down and sure enough he wasn't in his broken armor. He wasn't even sore. Getting up slowly from the bed, Tony walked over to the window and peered outside. New York. He was in New York. Shutting the curtain, he turned around recognizing that he was in his and Pepper's bedroom in Avengers tower. It made no sense to him. He had sold it and even if he hadn't, how had he ended up there relatively unscathed? Feeling even more confused, he headed into his bathroom washing up before venturing out of his room. It was relatively peaceful in the building as thoughts raced through his mind.

"Sir, Mr. Parker is waiting down in the labs for you." An all too familiar voice spoke out catching Tony off guard.

Snapping out of his daze after a moment, He made his way downstairs toward the labs. "Thanks J.A.R.V.I.S. Wait, J.A.R.V.I.S? That's.. that's not possible. You're..."

"Sir, are you alright?"

He shook his head running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Tony walked into his lab area only to see that Peter Parker was indeed there. "Peter..."

"Oh hey, Mr. Stark." The teenager waved greeting him as he looked up from the web shooter that he was tinkering with at the moment.

Before he could stop himself, he pulled the younger man into a hug. "You're okay."

"Uh yeah, I'm fine. I was already pretty low when the shooter malfunctioned." A confused expression appeared on Peter's face.

Tony composed himself letting go of the boy. "The web shooter. Right."

"Mr. Stark, are you okay?" He asked watching Tony pick up the device.

He nodded his head, "Yeah. Crazy morning."

* * *

Despite his protests, Tony shooed Peter out of the building a short time later insisting he either go do something fun with his friends or go spend time with his Aunt May. Pepper could only watch from afar as the teenager gave in leaving the building with a sigh. She approached Tony from behind placing her hand upon his shoulder delicately.

"You're going to make an excellent father, you know."

The sound of her voice instantly relaxed him and he turned around to face her. "You think so, Pep?"

"I know so." The strawberry blonde smiled resting her left hand against her growing stomach.

His eyes trailed down nearly bulging at the sight. "Pepper..."

"I didn't lose it. I put it on a chain because it doesn't fit at the moment." Pepper gestured to the necklace around her neck where an elegant engagement ring wedding band set hung nestled within her now voluptuous cleavage.

Before he could respond, a brunette in a charcoal hued skirt suit approached the couple greeting Pepper and talking about the baby for a few moments.

"So is my nephew behaving today?"

Tony looked at the brunette confused. "I'm sorry. I must have heard wrong. Did you say nephew? Pepper doesn't have any siblings."

"Well no she doesn't, but she has a sister in law. Aka me. Your little sister." The brunette responded only for both of the women to gasp when Tony collapsed.

* * *

Bruce Banner looked over his best friend's vitals while said friend lay in a bed in the medical bay slowly coming to. J.A.R.V.I.S had relayed to them that Tony had been acting a bit off since he had awoken earlier in the day. They were concerned though his vitals appeared to be normal and healthy.

He sighed looking over at Tony. "How are you feeling?"

Tony rubbed his face and sighed sitting up. "Just fantastic."

Bruce noted the sarcasm and shook his head. "We're going to run a few tests. First, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer them the best that you can."

He eyed his friend skeptically before shrugging his shoulders. "Fine."

"What's your full name?"

"Anthony Edward Stark. Born Friday, May 29th 1970 to Howard and Maria Stark in Manhattan, New York."

Bruce jotted some notes down and chuckled. "Ever the over achiever, aren't you?"

Tony smirked slightly. "Well you know me."

"When was your sister born?"

"I don't know. Bruce, I never had a sister. I'm an only child."

He frowned jotting another note down. "When did you become CEO of Stark Industries?"

"1992."

"When did you get married?"

"I..I don't know."

Bruce peered at him over the rip of his glasses. "Tony, what is the last thing you remember?"

He thought about it for a second. "Some woman claiming to be the sister I never had."

"Elizabeth Ana Stark was born to Howard and Maria on October 26th, 1986 via surrogate. It was considered a miracle at the time since gestational surrogacy was relatively new back then." The brunette spoke up catching both of their attentions. "And yes, that's me."

Tony listened to her while shaking his head. "And I'm telling you that's just not possible."

* * *

The brunette rubbed her temples leaning against the counter in the communal kitchen of the tower waiting for the teapot to finish boiling. She couldn't think of anything that happened the night before that could come close to even possibly explaining what was going on with her big brother. A hand was placed on her shoulder comfortingly and she jumped slightly clearly startled only to realize that it was just Bruce.

"Sorry. I didn't realize it was you."

Bruce shook his head smiling slightly at her. "It's fine. You've had a tough day."

"Not as tough as Tony's. It just doesn't make sense. Pepper said everything was normal when they went to sleep. If anything, the most unusual thing would be that he actually slept more than four hours for once." Elizabeth sighed moving to grab some mugs from the counter.

The familiar whistle of the teapot soothed Bruce and he moved to help her with the tea. "His vitals are normal which is a good sign. Once we get some scans of his brain, we should know if the loss of memory is physical or... something else."

"I'm calling Steve. I know he's in Wakanda right now, but it'd be a good idea to cover all our bases. Make sure no one else is having memory issues like Tony." She finished preparing her cup of tea blowing at the top of it lightly to cool it off a little.

He did the same before taking a sip of his tea and sighing. "Usually I'd say it would probably be a good idea to hold off until we know something more concrete, but it's Tony. Plus even if we all said not to, I know you'd still make the call."

"Yeah, I would."

* * *

It was after midnight when Tony crept out of the tower. Everyone was either asleep or oblivious to his movements. He quietly made his way down to where the New York Sanctum was located and approached the front door. Before he could knock, the door swung open revealing Doctor Stephen Strange. He eyed Tony curiously for a moment and then gestured for him to come into the building.

"I knew you would be stopping by."

Tony appeared surprised rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. "You did?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I won't be of much help." The Eye of Agamotto seemingly glowed as it hung from the chain around his neck.

He pondered the sorcerer's words for a moment shaking his head. "You know. You're probably the only person in this world that knows what I know."

"I am, yes. It came to me this morning. I presume right around the time you woke up." Dr. Strange sat down watching the genius inventor.

Tony began to piece things together a little bit. "But..."

"You are Tony Stark. You are from this world, but you are also from the world that you know. Going from a traumatic existence to a more.. well..happier one..can have its effects." He spoke studying the other man's presence.

The older man paced a bit shaking his head. "What does that even mean?"

"It means your mind is the dominant one. But don't fret. Like I said, you're this world's Stark too. Go home and rest. It will come to you." Stephen assured him.

Tony stared at him in disbelief. "That's it? Just go home."

"It's the only way."

Before he could respond, Tony found himself suddenly back in his room in the Avengers tower. He sighed setting his shoes out of the way and crawled into bed. Pepper instinctively turned toward him snuggling against his chest. His hand rested flat against her stomach and a soft smile appeared on his face at the small flutter of movement that he felt.

* * *

 _Elizabeth was a precocious child. She was usually seen with a book in tow and always asking questions. The little girl was the apple of her father's eye which led to a little resentment from her big brother. Howard by then had settled down some and realized he didn't want to make the same mistakes missing out on so much like he had with Tony. She had frequent visits with her 'Aunt' Peggy Carter and loved hearing stories from the older woman's past. To the little brunette, they were exciting adventures. Elizabeth was eight when Jarvis passed away one night in his sleep unexpectedly. It hit her hard. He had been like an uncle to her. She found refuge within Tony's lab with him ultimately making up a comfortable spot for her to hang out away from the dangerous areas of the lab. It seemed to work well until one day a few weeks later that he heard her sniffling._

 _Tony sighed as he stopped what he was doing and bent down to her level. "What's the matter, Eli?"_

 _"I miss Jarvis." She pouted, face splotchy with tears soaking her skin._

 _He pulled her into a hug comforting her though it was only when she calmed down that he spoke again. "I miss him too, kiddo. Hey, you want to help me test out one of my new programs?"_

 _"Can I really?" Elizabeth appeared to perk up a bit as her brother grabbed a tissue drying her face gently._

 _Tony nodded his head picking her up as he got to his feet. "Of course you can. You're my best beta tester."_

 _"Okay. What do I have to do?" She giggled slightly watching him adjust some settings._

 _He made a funny face at her and then smiled whispering softly. "Alright then. All you have to do is say Jarvis' name out loud clearly."_

 _"Jarvis?" His little sister eyed him curiously completely unaware of what was about to happen._

 _"Hello Elizabeth." The English accented AI spoke and Tony could only watch as the little girl's face lit up._

 _"Jarvis!"_

 _Tony chuckled softly at her enthusiasm. "Now I know it's not really the same, but now you can talk to him whenever you want. He'll answer questions and help you however you can. Just not with your homework, oka..OOF!"_

 _"You're the bestest big brother ever, Tony!" Elizabeth had cut off his words by hugging him tightly._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: Tony Stark finds himself in a world he has no memory of where Thanos isn't a problem. Yet. Is history doomed to repeat itself or will he discover a way to help his team in both the old world as well as the new? Will he find a way to return to his old world or will new bonds that he's formed make him want to stay?**

 **Featuring: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, OC, All the Avengers, and others.**

 **Setting: Post Infinity War. Sort of.**

 **Notes: I've always loved these movies. Been wanting to write an Avengers fic for a while now.**

* * *

"I told you that you didn't have to come back here so soon. We've got everything under control. I think."

Steve Rogers pulled the frazzled brunette into a comforting hug. "I know, but it's fine. We were about ready to head back anyway. How is he?"

"He's..well.. Tony. Working on a new project in the lab when he's not with Pepper or finishing the nursery." She returned the hug and then pulled away with a sigh.

Bucky Barnes rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It sucks, but you just have to give him time. His memories will sort themselves out when they're ready."

"Thanks." Elizabeth reached out touching his hand lightly knowing the situation probably hit a bit too close to home for him. "Um, your rooms are all set for you guys. Clint and Natasha are going around the building right now running a security breach protocol."

The blonde's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "There was a breach?"

"Not that we know of, but with what happened to Tony, they felt it was better safe than sorry. Anyway, Pepper's now on maternity leave so I'm interim CEO of Stark Industries until she feels she's ready to take the job back." She explained filling them in on what they had missed since they had left for Wakanda.

Bucky couldn't help chuckling slightly. "But you hate the business stuff. You wouldn't even take a spot on the Board of Directors until Pepper agreed that you wouldn't have to wear a suit."

"I'm well aware of that, but having an Avenger's child is stressful enough. The least I could do was fill in and put her mind at ease that someone capable was filling in for her. Look, I still have a few things to do before I'm done for today. You two go make yourselves at home."

* * *

 _She had waited until it wasn't too early or too late in Wakanda. Still, maybe Bruce had been right. Maybe they should have waited until they had something more concrete to go on. Before she could change her mind, the familiar voice made itself known on the other line and she bit back a sigh._

 _"Hey Steve. It's Elizabeth. I hope I'm not calling at a bad time."_

 _Steve wiped the sweat from his forehead and chuckled softly. "Not at all. Just finished sparring with Okoye."_

 _"She kick your ass again?" The brunette couldn't help smirking slightly at the thought._

 _He chuckled softly. "Yeah, you could say that."_

 _"Thought so. Listen, um, something happened to Tony." Elizabeth finally admitted letting a sigh fall from her lips._

 _Steve stiffened immediately going into Captain America mode. "What happened? Is he.."_

 _"He's fine. Honestly, we're not quite sure what happened. He woke up this morning and half his memory was gone. Not all of what he remembers is right either." She filled him in._

 _He relaxed a bit shaking his head. "How bad is it?"_

 _"He swears that he's an only child. That..that I never existed. He doesn't remember marrying Pepper or her being pregnant. Although he does remember them getting engaged."_

 _Movement could be heard and he relayed the information to Bucky before speaking to her again. "What does Bruce say?"_

 _"He's not sure either. Nothing appears to be physically wrong with Tony in a way that would cause memory loss. He ran some tests. No signs of any poisons or anything like that. Is everyone okay over there?" She asked biting her lip slightly._

 _Steve listened sighing softly. "Everyone's alright here as far as I know. I'll see if anyone knows anything though. We'll be back in the States as soon as we can."_

 _"No. I mean, Steve, no, that's not necessary. We're fine here." She sat up straighter assuring him._

 _He chuckled slightly shaking his head again. "Elizabeth, it's alright. We were pretty much done here anyway."_

* * *

Setting his screwdriver down, Tony sighed running his hands over his face. He knew none of this was right and didn't know what to do about it. Making a Thanos proof suit was next to impossible though that didn't mean he couldn't try. Pulling up the blueprints of the Hulkbuster armor, he studied them going over in his mind how to possibly bring it closer to being Thanos proof.

"Making another one?"

Tony whooshed the blueprints away and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Uh, no, just brainstorming."

Bruce nodded cracking a slight smile at his friend. "Right. How are you holding up?"

He sighed sitting back down on his stool. "A bit overwhelmed, honestly. I mean, I knew Pep and I were getting married. I had hoped to at least try for a kid with her. But..I have a sister? That's still throwing me for a loop."

Dr. Banner leaned against the workbench listening to him. "Maybe you should talk to her. Get to know her. It might spark a memory to return."

Tony nodded his head sighing softly. "Is she..I mean.. she's not an Avenger, right?"

He chuckled softly. "Your sister is not an Avenger."

The father to be was relieved to hear that. "Good. Listen, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. Want to be my kid's godfather?"

Bruce studied his face for a moment to see if he was messing with him, but then smiled. "Seriously? Tony, I'd be honored. But are you sure? I mean, what about..."

He waved him off chuckling. "Of course I'm sure. You're going to be in his life anyway."

* * *

The labs were a welcome respite from her temporary day job. She passed out food to Jane and Darcy knowing it had been awhile since either of them had probably eaten. Flopping down on the couch, she sighed in relief as she pulled her heels off.

"Bad day?" Darcy quipped looking over at her friend.

"The worst. I may be a Stark, but business is just not my forte. How are you ladies doing?" Elizabeth looked over at both of them.

Jane looked up from the notebook she was writing in. "Not too bad. Still trying to work out the kinks in this new theory of mine."

"I'm sure Thor could help you out with some of those kinks." The feisty raven haired assistant smirked taking a sip from her drink earning a laugh from their friend while making Jane blush.

The scientist rolled her eyes playfully and moved to sit down. "Hush, Darcy."

"Anyway.." The younger Stark giggled softly at their banter. "The baby shower is still on for Saturday afternoon. It'll be laid back and not too cheesy, I promise."

"Why are you even throwing one when Tony can afford it all anyhow?" Darcy took a bite of her muffin raising her eyebrow at her friend.

"Because Pepper deserves a little sense of normalcy in all this. They've already got all of the furniture, car seat, highchair, and stroller ordered. I just want my sister in law and nephew to feel loved. No one's obligated to bring any gifts." She explained assuring them.

Jane nodded along listening. "What about books? We could each get him a book and write a little something on the inside covers of whichever book we bought."

"That's actually a really cute idea, Jane. I know Pepper would love that. She'd be really touched." Elizabeth smiled at the thought.

* * *

"Well he's been through so much. I honestly wouldn't be shocked to find out that he has some kind of undiagnosed traumatic mental disorder."

Ana Jarvis nodded her head in agreement as she raised her cup of tea to take a sip. "But you know how stubborn Anthony could be when it comes to doctors."

"I feel like maybe I can get him to talk to someone. If not for me and not for him then for the baby." Pepper interjected rubbing her growing stomach gently.

The eldest woman set her cup back down smiling reassuringly at her. "I know it's hard, dear, but don't fret your pretty little head over it. He will be okay."

"Ana's right, sweetheart. He'll get the help that he needs and he'll remember again. You'll see."

Pepper sighed nodding her head in agreement and reached for her purse pulling out the newest ultrasound pictures of the baby to show them.

* * *

"Tony?" The knock at the door had startled her and she was surprised to find her brother standing there when she opened it.

He rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed. "Hey kiddo. Can we, uh, talk?"

"Sure. Come on in." Elizabeth stepped aside letting her brother into her room.

Her living space was a bit more modest than his and Pepper's, much to his surprise. "I was just thinking. You know. Maybe we could, uh, start at the beginning."

"I'd like that. What would you like to know?" She smiled softly shutting the door and moving to sit down in her small seating area.

Tony took a seat as well relaxing a bit. "Like I said, let's start at the beginning. What do you remember about Mom and Dad's accident?"

"What? You've never talked to me about that before. I was five years old when it happened. No one ever pushed me to really talk about it besides the cops." She frowned pushing her hair away from her face.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm asking you now. Wait, why would the cops want you to talk about it?"

"Because I was there. Dad was skeptical about leaving you home alone with me so he and mom took me with them. They were supposed to drop me off with Aunt Peggy on their way to D.C., but we didn't make it that far. I was in the backseat. I remember the music playing and Dad telling me how much fun I was going to have. The combination of the music and the car moving put me to sleep though." The brunette recalled curling up a bit in her seat.

Tony looked over at her listening intently to her words.

"I woke up seconds after the car crash. I was thrown forward a bit and I remember the seatbelt hurting me. Dad was talking, but I couldn't tell you what he was saying. I vaguely remember someone standing outside of the car. Dad's voice got louder and he sounded panicked. It made me scream and I cried for him. I.." She trailed off making a face.

He reached over squeezing her hand gently. "It's alright."

"I remember someone reaching for Mom, but they stopped when they saw me. Whoever it was grabbed the car phone and called the cops. That's all I really remember. I've tried to block most of it out over the years. Although, I did see you at the hospital. You promised you'd never let anything happen to me again."

Tony smiled slightly at that. "Well you know I meant it."

"Yeah, I know. I mean, I was five so I'm sure I'm probably remembering parts of what happened wrong. It was only about three years or so after that when Jarvis died. You used to call me your best beta tester and surprised me one day with the AI Jarvis. It was one of the best gifts you've ever given me." She smiled at him.

He chuckled slightly and shook his head. "It's funny. Mom and Dad never mentioned wanting to have more kids. I wonder why they waited so long. Maybe Dad's work got in the way."

"Maybe. I can't say I ever asked."

Tony grew serious again and looked at her. "So who are you dating?"

"What? Tony, I love you, but you don't intimidate any of the guys in this tower. But if you must know, I'm single. You and Rhodey go into overprotective big brother mode any time a guy steps near me." She shot him a look and then laughed softly at him.

He nodded his head chuckling slightly. "Good. Keep it that way."

"Anthony!" The brunette threw a pillow at his head.

* * *

Not wanting to upset her any further nor wanting to get anything else thrown at him, Tony ended his conversation with his sister and left her be for now. Various thoughts filled his mind as he walked around Avengers tower. With help from Jarvis, he found Bucky in the gym sparring with Steve. He nodded at them and they finished up then took drinks from their water bottles.

Tony sighed rubbing at the back of his neck. "Bucky, can I speak with you for a second?"

The blonde went into protective mode looking over at Tony. "What's going on?"

He held his hands up showing he meant no harm. "Stand down, Cap. I just have a question about the Winter Soldier."

Bucky swallowed hard and nodded his head. "Alright. What do you want to know?"

Tony looked at him, "Were you ordered to kill my parents?"

He sighed pushing his dark brown hair away from his face knowing they had already had this conversation before, but considering Tony's recent memory issues, he answered him again. "Yes. But your sister was in the backseat crying. I was ordered to leave no witnesses, but I couldn't kill a child."

The elder Stark tilted his head slightly. "Since when? The Winter Soldier would kill anyone."

Bucky frowned glancing down for a moment before looking at him again. "I know. I can't explain it. I was about to shoot Howard when I heard her."

Tony eyed him in disbelief. "That makes no sense. If you failed your mission, they would have sent you to do it again. Or sent someone else."

His shoulders shrugged. "I got them what they wanted. The vial of super soldier serum and Howard's notes about the serum. It didn't matter that I left your sister alive. She was five years old. She didn't know what happened."

* * *

"You certainly have something on your mind. Talk to me." The red haired former agent of SHIELD observed the younger woman curiously.

"It's just something that Tony said stuck with me. Would SHIELD happen to know what our father was working on around, say, nineteen eighty five and nineteen eighty six?" Elizabeth questioned glancing over at Natasha.

"I'm sure there's probably a note somewhere in his file. Around those days, with the threat of a possible Cold War looming, they were definitely keeping an eye on guys like Howard. I could look into it if you want. Wasn't that around when you were born?"

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks Natasha. And yes, I was born in eighty six. I'm just curious. I couldn't find anything in any of the files at Stark Industries. It is rather odd that they waited so long to have me though." She noted shrugging her shoulders.

"Howard Stark was a known workaholic. He barely had enough time for Tony and was a rumored womanizer. It's not too surprising that they didn't have you until the eighties." Natasha spoke bluntly looking directly at the brunette.

An arrow whizzed by their heads just then barely grazing the top of Natasha's hair and the redhead glared at the archer who simply chuckled. "What?"

"I'll get right on that after I teach Clint a lesson." The Black Widow stood up and gave chase to Clint who swore before taking off for the nearest vent.

Elizabeth shook her head smiling slightly at their antics as she stood up and made her way toward the tower's library. She sat down at one of the computers glancing around before doing a search on the web for articles pertaining to her parents' accident. She clicked around though didn't find any information that she hadn't already known. Shaking her head, she closed the search clearing the history of it. A loud clang caught her attention and she turned just in time to see the archer tumble out of one of the vents looking roughed up.

"And that's why we don't shoot our arrows so close to Natasha's head." She teased moving to help him up.

Clint sighed nodding his head as he got to his feet with her help. "Yeah, I know."

"Also no shooting arrows outside of the designated training floor." Elizabeth admonished him.

He smirked walking slowly out of the library with her. "Spoken like a true aunt to be. You're right. I'm sorry. In my defense, it was a Nerf arrow."

"Clint, only you would intentionally mess with Natasha like that."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: Tony Stark finds himself in a world he has no memory of where Thanos isn't a problem. Yet. Is history doomed to repeat itself or will he discover a way to help his team in both the old world as well as the new? Will he find a way to return to his old world or will new bonds that he's formed make him want to stay?**

 **Featuring: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, OC, All the Avengers, and others.**

 **Setting: Post Infinity War. Sort of.**

 **Notes: Haven't decided if I'm going to pair Tony's sister with anyone yet. I'd love to hear what you guys think.**

* * *

Tony shot up in bed breathing heavily as his skin glistened with a cold sweat. Pepper lay beside him sleeping peacefully. The bright red numbers of the clock on his nightstand pierced through the darkness of the room displaying that it was only three thirty in the morning. He sighed making his way to the bathroom making as little noise as possible so as to not disturb Pepper's sleep. He shut the door and splashed some cold water on his face.

He looked in the mirror and sighed. "It wasn't real."

His thoughts and memories were jumbled at the moment. Some memories of his life in this world had come back. They had seeped their way into his dreams twisting them into wretched nightmares. He saw the two most important women in his life fade away just like Peter had.

* * *

The younger Stark sibling staggered into the kitchen and prepared herself a cup of extra strong coffee. Her skin was slightly pale and still a little clammy. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. The brunette was so out of it that she hadn't noticed anyone else enter the kitchen. He prepared himself his usual cup of morning tea and that's when he noticed her current physical state.

Bruce looked at the younger woman in concern. "Elizabeth, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh I'm fine, Bruce. Just.. It was a long night." She took a sip of her coffee and sighed.

He nodded his head. "Did you want to talk about it?"

"I.. well alright, I suppose I should."

The two of them sat down with their drinks in the breakfast nook area of the kitchen.

"I just.. it's the nightmares. I get them when I'm stressed." She admitted biting her lip slightly.

Bruce took a sip of his tea. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since I was a kid. Started not long after my parent's accident. It's always the same thing too. I'm hooked up to machines in this white room and someone in a white lab coat approaches me with a syringe. Sometimes it's my dad, sometimes Tony, but most of the time the face is just... blurred out." Elizabeth sighed recalling the nightmare that had plagued her for years.

He nodded his head in thought. "It's possible that the fear and stress from the accident turned your memory of being checked out at the hospital into a nightmare."

"I guess. Doesn't exactly explain the syringe though. It doesn't really feel like a hospital either, but I suppose that could just be my mind distorting it." Her shoulders shrugged as she took a sip of her coffee.

Bruce gave her a sympathetic look. "Have you ever told anyone about this? Besides me, I mean."

"Aunt Peggy. She got this weird look on her face like something had clicked in her mind, but she didn't want to tell me. She promised me that it was just a dream and that dreams can't hurt me."

He raised his eyebrows curiously. "And that was the last time you talked about it until now?"

"To her, yeah. I remember her fighting with Dad though. It got pretty loud at one point. I never really thought too much of it because I still got to visit her a lot after that." The color had returned to her skin by now and she felt more relaxed.

Bruce nodded his head taking another sip of his tea. "She was probably just concerned about you."

"Yeah, probably. Thanks, by the way. I feel much better now." She smiled softly at him.

* * *

The tower was full of activity by the time it reached noon. Decorations were set up and a special sash was placed over Pepper. A festive lunch was held with the Starks, Bruce, Steve, Bucky, Clint, Natasha, Wanda, Pietro, Jane, Darcy, Helen Cho, Maria Hill, Peter, May, Sam, Rhodey, Stephen Strange, and even Thor in attendance. Afterward, they retreated to the also decorated common area where Pepper sat in a special chair and opened gifts. Thor had given them a children's book on Norse Mythology citing that it was surprisingly fairly accurate. Jane had gotten them a children's book about Space. Darcy went with a set of Dr. Seuss books. Natasha gave them a fairytales book while Clint gave them a kid's version of Robin Hood. Steve and Bucky gave them a set of Winnie The Pooh books. Helen gave them a set of Berenstain Bears books. Wanda and Pietro gave them a set of little Golden books. Maria gave them some Clifford the big red dog books. Goodnight Moon was from Sam and The Giving Tree was from Rhodey. May gave them some Curious George books while Stephen gifted them Where The Wild Things are. Peter actually gave them two gifts. He cheekily gave them Charlotte's Web, but then he also sweetly gifted them a photo album of pictures he had taken of everyone including some of Pepper throughout the pregnancy. It also had plenty of room for pictures of the baby. Lastly, It was Elizabeth's turn. She gave them a set of Alice In Wonderland books. A set that was originally hers. By then, Pepper's hormones got the best of her and she began to cry.

"Is something wrong with Lady Pepper and the son of Stark?" Thor questioned immediately growing concerned at the sight of her tears.

Pepper shook her head smiling softly at the God of Thunder. "We're both fine, Thor. I'm just really happy. They're happy tears."

The muscular blonde relaxed nodding his head in understanding. It was then that Pepper winced grasping her stomach. Everyone froze looking at her unsure of what to do.

"Pep, are you alright?" Elizabeth asked watching Tony move closer to his wife.

The strawberry blonde nodded her head only to wince again. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. I just need to use the ladies room."

As Tony helped her stand up, a set of gasps were heard around the room as water pooled around her feet.

"She's in labor..." A shocked Elizabeth stood up quickly smiling in awe.

Tony's brown eyes widened and he started calling out orders. Pietro whisked them off to the hospital while Elizabeth went to get Pepper's overnight bag.

* * *

"Welcome to the world, Morgan Anthony James Stark." Elizabeth cooed at her nephew holding the small newborn bundle of joy within her arms.

He wasn't due for another week yet the doctors deemed the seven pounds and five ounces weighing newborn baby boy to be healthy. Even after they got Pepper to the hospital, it had still been a few hours before the baby had been born. Still, as his aunt held him in her arms, she deemed him to be absolutely perfect in her eyes. Tony smiled at the sight pressing a kiss to Pepper's head. The door to her room opened and he felt the air rush out of him.

"We got here as fast as we could. Oh darling, he is just beautiful!" Maria Stark cooed as she caught sight of her first born grandchild.

Ana stepped into the room behind her and smiled. "Don't worry about a thing, Pepper dear. We already let your parents know. They're catching the next flight out."

Tony made his way over to his mother still in shock. "Mom? You can't be.. is it really..."

"It's really me, Anthony." She pulled her son into a warm hug.

He hugged her tightly letting fresh tears fall. "I missed you so much."

"I know, dear. I know. Let me meet my grandson and then we can go for a walk." Maria rubbed his back comfortingly and then pulled away.

* * *

The younger Stark sibling stood outside of the hospital nursery window looking in at her nephew among the other newborns. She pointed him out to the person standing beside her and smiled fondly.

"He really is pretty perfect."

Steve cracked a smile looking at her. "Yeah, he is. You ever think about having one?"

"No." Her smile faded a bit.

His eyebrows raised curiously at her. "Why not?"

"I can't. Literally I can't. Mom told me when I was sixteen that the doctors said that the accident my parents had when I was a kid left me barren."

The blonde frowned placing his hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you. It's okay. I made peace with it a long time ago." She turned her attention back to her nephew.

* * *

Tony frowned at the memory. "They said you had both died in the car accident. Jarvis made the identification. I.. I just couldn't."

"Oh Anthony. I'm so sorry you had to go through that." She cupped his face gently with her hand.

He closed his eyes for a moment taking a breath and then looked at her again. "Where's Dad?"

"Howard's gone, dear. Your father passed on a few years after the accident. Massive stroke." Maria broke the news as gently as she could.

Tony shook his head frowning. "Oh."

"At least the two of you stopped butting heads after the accident."

He smiled slightly at that and then looked at her curiously. "There's something I don't get. Why did you guys decide to have Elizabeth so late in life?"

"I always wanted more children, but Howard just didn't have the time. Then one day he tells me we should have another child. So we tried. It didn't work. There was this new thing called surrogate pregnancy. Howard thought it would be a good idea to try. I gave in. Elizabeth was conceived a few months afterward. He wanted to try again after her. I think he wanted another boy, but I said no. I was happy with having one of each." Maria recalled with a soft smile.

Tony nodded his head sighing softly. "What if I'm not good enough to be a dad?"

"Anthony, I'm proud of you. I am so proud of you. I know in my heart that you will be a great dad. It may seem hard, but don't doubt yourself, son."

It was the one thing he had been wanting to hear for years and suddenly it was like a weight had been lifted. He hugged her again earning a soft laugh from the older woman.

* * *

 _ **"So we go after Winter Soldier again?" His words were accented with a hint of Russian to them.**_

 _ **"No, he's been too compromised. The girl. Bring her back."**_

 _ **"Which one?" A different man questioned.**_

 _ **"The Stark girl. She's the one we want."**_

* * *

"I know you're probably wondering why I've gathered you all here. There's a situation unfolding." Natasha spoke cryptically as she glanced around at the group of people that had gathered in the tower.

Steve folded his arms across his broad chest. "What's going on, Natasha?"

"SHIELD, what's left of it actually, has come across some disturbing intel. Hydra is plotting to take Tony's sister." Maria Hill spoke up just then.

Bucky tensed up at the mention of Hydra. "Well we won't let them take her."

"Shouldn't Mr. Stark be here for this?" Peter spoke up glancing around at the group.

"Don't worry. We're going to tell him. We just figured he should get to enjoy his first day as a father. The rest of us can handle it for now." The redhead assured the teenager.

Bruce dusted his glasses off and raised his eyebrows. "So what are we going to do?"

"Scheduled security detail. One of us will be near Elizabeth at all times." Natasha laid out the plan.

Clint snorted shaking his head. "It could possibly work here at the tower, but what about when she's over at Stark Industries? She'd never buy that one of us is just hanging around there."

"I have my summer internship there actually." Peter offered.

"And I can go undercover as her assistant." It wasn't like Natasha hadn't done it before.

Wanda raised her eyebrows curiously. "Why her though? It's not like she could build an Iron Man suit for them."

"No, but they could use her as leverage." Agent Hill responded.

The former assassin shook his head at the thought. "It's not leverage they want. The information I stole from Howard Stark the day of the accident was about the Super Soldier Serum. It was a bunch of paperwork and a sample in a vial."

"If they wanted more information, they could have gotten a mole into Stark Industries and hacked into the company's database." The teenager suggested glancing around at everyone else.

Steve scoffed slightly at the notion. "Howard wouldn't have let sensitive information like that be in the database."

"He's right. I've been all over that database. Nothing about the serum is in there." Natasha admitted.

Bruce put his glasses back on. "So with Tony's current memory issues, theoretically Elizabeth would be the only one with access to those files. Well, aside from their mother, of course."

A look of realization crossed Steve's face. "And Peggy."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: Tony Stark finds himself in a world he has no memory of where Thanos isn't a problem. Yet. Is history doomed to repeat itself or will he discover a way to help his team in both the old world as well as the new? Will he find a way to return to his old world or will new bonds that he's formed make him want to stay?**

 **Featuring: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, OC, All the Avengers, and others.**

 **Setting: Post Infinity War. Sort of.**

 **Notes: Haven't decided if I'm going to pair Tony's sister with anyone yet. I'd love to hear what you guys think. Also I haven't seen Endgame so don't worry this won't spoil the movie at all.**

* * *

"Steve!" The older woman's face lit up at the sight of him making her smile broadly at him.

The blond superhero smiled at her. "Hey, Peg."

"It's good to see you. So what brings you here?"

He chuckled softly at that. "Oh c'mon, Peg. Can't a guy just want to visit his best girl?"

"Well yeah, sure, but I know you, Steven. I can tell when there's something on your mind." Peggy spoke pointedly at him.

Steve sighed nodding his head. "Alright, there is something on my mind. We received intel that Hydra wants to take Elizabeth."

"Those bastards. Oh pardon my French. I told him. I told Howard that he was being foolish. But did he listen to me? No, of course not."

His brows furrowed in concern as he listened to her. "Peggy, it's alright. What are you talking about?"

"Steve, you can't let them get to her. Promise me. She doesn't deserve that." She grabbed his arm looking at him seriously.

Steve placed his hand over hers and smiled reassuringly at her. "Elizabeth is safe. We're not going to let anything happen to her."

* * *

She was oblivious to it at first. Too preoccupied with thoughts of her new nephew who was currently in her arms. The brunette had insisted that she would watch him while Tony and Pepper took a well deserved nap. A rare smile graced Bucky's face as he watched her move around talking to the infant cradled within her arms. She was a natural with the baby and probably didn't even realize it. The brunette glanced up only to meet his gaze.

"Uh, hi." Elizabeth blushed realizing he had been watching her.

Bucky smiled a bit more at her. "Hi. So I take it this is the newest member of the Stark family?"

"Yup. Morgan Stark, meet James Buchanen Barnes. Otherwise known as Bucky." She grinned softly as she walked over and showed him the baby.

He hesitated before looking at him. "I shouldn't..."

"James, the accident wasn't your fault. It was Hydra's. They brainwashed you. Look, I was a scared five year old, but even I remember that you never tried to hurt me. You were the one that called the cops, weren't you?"

Bucky sighed nodding his head. "I was supposed to take the files and.. eliminate your parents. You weren't supposed to be in the car. I heard you cry and I couldn't do it. That was the first time I broke past the brainwashing."

"Bucky..."

He cleared his throat having watched them from afar. "Is that my godson I see?"

"I thought Bruce was his godfather." She teased the older man looking over at him.

Rhodey smirked greeting the baby. "He has two."

"Of course he does." Elizabeth let him hold the baby and then frowned when she saw that Bucky was gone.

* * *

Steve sighed as he sat down. "Peggy got pretty upset, but I was able to get a hold of the files with her help. Bruce is looking them over."

"I looked into SHIELD reports from the eighties. Howard was working on a breakthrough in the Super Soldier Serum technology. It's never outright stated what the breakthrough was though. There is one notation around the time of the Starks' accident that mentioned he was headed to D.C. to talk about the breakthrough." Natasha filled them in.

Bruce adjusted his glasses setting the files down on the table. "Well I looked over the files. According to these, Howard was going to tell them that the breakthrough failed and that he didn't see it ever being successful. Except the tests and research show that it was quite successful."

"So do you think that's what Hydra is after?" Maria Hill asked looking over at Bruce.

He sighed nodding his head in agreement. "Yes. According to these files, Howard was finally able to replicate a working serum nearly identical to the one that was administered to Steve."

"But Hydra already has the serum sample and the files about it." The redhead countered appearing a bit confused.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before looking at everyone. "I'm assuming those files enclosed the exact nature of the breakthrough. It's Elizabeth. She's the breakthrough."

Bucky's hand nearly broke the table as he slammed it down on top of it. "What?!

He sighed again remaining calm. "Howard's breakthrough was in gene manipulation. It was the early days of surrogate gestation. He injected the embryos with the serum. Only one survived. Elizabeth."

"But how is that possible? She hasn't exhibited any of the traits from the serum." The brunette agent spoke up.

"Or has she? We only truly know how it affects an adult after they've been injected with it. We don't know how it affects someone who was born with it." Natasha pointed out.

Bruce nodded his head in agreement. "She has nothing unusual in her health history to suggest that the serum might be having an adverse affect on her."

The blond raised his eyebrows. "What if Tony's memory issues are on purpose? Take out her number one protector and distract the rest of us so they could grab her."

Bucky frowned at that. "Well Hydra does have the means to mess with someone's memory. Who knows how advanced their techniques have gotten by now?"

"Wait, there is one thing that doesn't make sense. If Howard was going to tell the government that his testing had failed, then he never would have outed Elizabeth in his notes. So how did Hydra figure out it was her before we did?" Agent Hill looked around at them perplexed.

* * *

Tony poured himself a cup of coffee taking a sip before turning his attention to the other man in the room. "Alright Cap, what's going on?"

Steve rubbed at the back of his neck looking over at him. "We've gotten intel that Hydra wants Elizabeth."

He froze and Rhodey placed his hand on his shoulder. "They're not going to get her or any other Stark."

The blond sighed nodding at the men. "Of course not, but there's something you should know, Tony. Your sister... she was the first and only person born with the super serum inside of them. That was the breakthrough Howard was going to talk about in D.C., but he was going to tell them that it wasn't successful."

His brown eyes widened in a mix of shock, confusion, and anger. "What? How?"

Bruce glanced up from his tea. "When your parents went through with the surrogate pregnancy, Howard injected the serum into the embryos. Your sister was the only one that survived."

"What?" Her shocked voice caught them all off guard.

The group of men looked over at her only for the young woman to run out of the room. Tony sighed and finished his coffee. They all looked at each other though it was the older Stark that stepped forward.

"I'll go talk to her."

* * *

Elizabeth was curled up on her bed crying. Tony's face softened at the sight. Sure, he still didn't fully remember her, but he hated to see her so upset. He sighed sitting down beside her. She leaned against him crying some more.

He wrapped an arm around her setting a box of tissues in her hands. "Shh, it's alright."

"It's not alright! I'm just an experiment." She shrieked grabbing a tissue and wiping her face.

Tony shook his head. "You are not just an experiment. Mom loves you. Dad loved you. I love you, sis. You're family. You were always family."

"Oh please! We nearly got killed because he was on his way to D.C. to brag about me."

He turned her chin so that she was looking at him. "Elizabeth, Dad was going to tell them that his tests had failed. Yes, he injected you with the serum, but ultimately he chose to protect you instead."

"Really?" Elizabeth sniffled smiling slightly at him.

Tony smiled nodding his head reassuringly. "Of course."

"Okay. Tony, I want tests run on me. See what effect the serum is really having on me." A determined tone was in her voice as she wiped her eyes.

He relaxed a bit already making notes in his head. "Alright, no problem. I'll get it all set up."

"Do you think they were ever going to tell us?"

Tony sighed pressing a kiss to her head. "I don't know. You'd think after the whole me being Iron Man thing and Cap being found, Mom would have said something. I think she feels that she is protecting you by not saying anything."

"Maybe we should talk to her and Aunt Peggy. Get the full story." Elizabeth glanced at her older brother.

He nodded his head in agreement. "Of course. If that's what you want, we'll talk to them."

"Also um, you can tell Pepper. I feel like you could probably explain it to her better."

* * *

"I'm going to look at your samples then I will compare them to Steve and Bucky's. We should be able to get an accurate picture then of just how the serum is affecting you." Dr. Helen Cho explained.

"Thank you. I've also already consented for you to have a look at my medical records." The younger Stark sibling informed the doctor.

"That I did see, yes. Thank you. I did get a look at them and there is nothing too out of the ordinary in your medical history. From what I can see so far, you are quite healthy, Miss Stark." Helen assured her with a warm smile.

Tony looked on curiously. "How sure are we that it's even in her? She hasn't shown any aggression."

"Neither did Bucky or Steve according to the files." The doctor looked at him.

Bucky leaned against the doorway looking over at them. "The research notes that I.. the Winter Soldier.. stole from Howard were used to manufacture more serum which was used to create more Winter Soldiers."

The older Stark sibling looked over at him. "Weren't they frozen?"

He sighed. "Yeah they were. Because they became ultra aggressive and tried to take out the Hydra soldiers. Even I could barely fight back against them."

"But if those notes were about the serum in me, why haven't I become aggressive?" Elizabeth asked clearly confused.

Tony looked at his sister and smirked. "Because they weren't his real notes about the serum in you. I think dad was just about able to perfectly replicate the serum that was used on Cap, but somehow modified it so you wouldn't be affected by the aggression. He clearly left out the modification part."

"Have you ever exhibited any signs of enhanced strength, agility, or perhaps healing?" Dr. Cho turned her attention back to the younger Stark in question.

"I..no. Tony always had to open jars for me. Does running count? I've always been a really good runner. As for healing, I never really noticed. Unless you count the car accident when I was five. I probably should have been sore for longer than I was, in hindsight." She recalled for the doctor.

"Alright, well that is all the information that I need right now. I will let you know what I find as soon as I can. You just try to take it easy." Helen jotted a few notes down and smiled at her.

* * *

In the meantime, Elizabeth had busied herself with work. Everyone gave her space yet still kept a protective eye on her from a distance. It was a rather uneventful day for Stark Industries staff until the sound of the fire alarm rang out around the building. A faint scent of smoke in the air sent everyone into a bit of a panic and the employees made their way out of the building. Elizabeth began to follow suit only to stop for a moment in the hallway when she heard someone call her name. She glanced around only for her brown eyes to widen when she recognized the voice that was calling out to her.

"Dad?"

She looked around confused until she saw what she thought was Howard Stark at the end of the hall. Momentarily forgetting about the fire alarm, Elizabeth ran down the hall only to hear another voice call out her name. It was Natasha. She turned to look at her and when she turned back, her father was gone. The sounds of fighting caught her attention for a moment only for her to feel something pinch her neck and then suddenly her whole world went black.

* * *

Tony was livid when he heard the news. "What the hell happened in there?"

"They lured her right to them using Howard. She thought he was really there. There were no indications of a security breach. The moment that alarm went off, I went to her office and Peter made his way up to her floor. Just as we finish getting through the Hydra guys, one of them jumps in through the open window and injected her with something. She passed out and he took off out the window with her. Peter followed them as far as he could." Natasha informed him.

"Somewhere in the woods. I sent Natasha the coordinates and a recording of what they were saying to each other." Peter spoke quietly over the communication system as he stayed hidden while keeping an eye on where they were holding Tony's sister.

The recording played and Bucky looked at Natasha. "It's Russian. They're going to run tests on her to determine if it is worth their time to take her to their actual labs in Austria."

"She might be worth more dead than alive." She finished translating what the second voice was saying.

Steve stood up a bit straighter. "Parker, any idea how many Hydra are in that building?"

"No clue. It's heavily guarded on the outside. Hard to tell how many are on the inside without getting closer." The teenager replied softly.

He thought for a moment then looked around. "Alright, good job. Stay put. We'll be there soon. Keep us posted if anything changes. Everyone else, suit up. Tony, you sure you... Oh."

Tony had already begun to suit up and looked over at him. "What? She's my sister. I'm not sitting this one out."

Steve nodded his head in agreement. "Alright then. Let's go get Elizabeth back."


End file.
